While there are lots of local races throughout the season, there is only one “in my back yard”. So naturally, I like to do either the Saturday MTB race, or the Sunday Road race. I did both one year, and well…let’s not go there. Since I took the entire year off my normal MTB schedule, and our Road Team won last year’s Tour de Strongland team category, it seemed like the right thing to do, even though it was the longest, “experienced” race route of the group.

It stands to reason that if you follow a proven, methodical training plan, you should see results. Those results should be measurable objectively and felt subjectively. Since opening Global Ride Training Center, I’ve been following steady Heart Zones® and Cycling Fusion Power training routines. Results translated to doing the Giretto in 2009 (4 back to back stages of the Giro – over 400 miles and a ton of climbing in the alps) with 85% of that training indoors. Not just my results, but results abounded all …

Yes, I do love indoor training when it is done right, but the weather has finally turned consistently warmer (at least in PA), and it’s time to get outside and soak up some of that beautiful sunshine. Especially if you have been training for a big outdoor charity ride, like one of the MS 150s or even a 30 or 50 mile Epic ride of sorts, it’s time to log some outdoor miles.

I’d like to strap the guy down who convinced our state’s D.O.T. to use Tar and Chip, open his mouth wide, pour hot tar down it, then pour the rest over his entire naked body, and roll him in a dump truck of hot sharp gravel. Then, after throwing him to the ground, I’d borrow the nearest SUV and run over him, backing up several times to make sure I’ve got all the chips well sealed in his mangled flesh.

So finally after about 7 years of road riding I can stop avoiding the phrase “I’ve never crashed on my road bike”. Saying that would be the kiss of death, and a sure fire way to “fix” that statement. I managed to make my road crash look more like a MTB crash (check out the mud on my left side). I’m tossing this one into the category of Too Much Testosterone. Yeah, it was my fault and entirely avoidable.

These are the words that rung in my head just before we headed out the door, helmet & gloves on, bikes ready to roll. My 19 year old daughter had a simple goal a few months ago – to lose weight and get in shape (sound familiar?). She had done a good job on her own, but hit the proverbial “wall”… little to no additional progress. I knew that if she was going to take it to the next level, she needed to have her sights set …

To all my Spinning® buddies and fanatics out there, don’t get too excited. I have nothing but kudos and good things to say about Spinning®, and have huge love for what Johnny G did to bring indoor cycling “to the masses”. Frankly, if it wasn’t for his work in the 80s, we would probably still be fighting to build the “perfect trainer” while a stationary bike is simply the perfect solution for both the class environment and introducing folks to cycling for the first time. If we …

Reflecting on the Giretto, after being home for more than a week now, I feel like I’m still waking up from one of the dreams that you could swear was real. It was grueling, exhilarating, exhausting, rewarding – each emotion at its peak. The overwhelming feeling I am left with is “I can’t wait till next year!” The logistics were as challenging as the training. The fund raising was as challenging as the riding. But the experience was well beyond what I had expected, even …

On my last post I told you how yesterday’s 8 hr in the saddle, concluding with both a Category 2 and a Cat 1 climb wasn’t really over after we stopped riding. The strength of our riding group was consistently Nina leading the way, and Jennifer brining up the rear. We all shared our time in the front pulling on the flat lands, but in the mountains, this is how it shook out. These climbs were no joke – each one taking 1 to 2 hrs …

After about 200 miles already under out belts, we started this stage with a level of cumulative fatigue none of us had ever experienced, and yet we were starting our first real mountain stage today. Nevertheless, the good Lord blessed us with another beautiful day of sunshine, and today we were determined to get ahead and stay ahead of the pros. The owner of the B&B washed our gear (an unexpected but delightful surprise), and we were ready to go. After not being able to find …